VCU CONNECT PROGRAM QUICKLY TAKING SHAPE

At the University of Virginia, Bo Greenwood received many
accolades as a student-athlete, including being named Atlantic
Coast Conference Rookie of the Year, an NCAA All-American, and
winning an ACC championship. Even with his impressive list of
accomplishments, Greenwood knew that the transition from being a
student-athlete to the work force would be challenging.

“I was fortunate to have some outstanding mentors who
helped teach and guide me through the transition,” said
Greenwood.

With the VCUconnect program, that’s something that
Greenwood is trying to share with current student-athletes.

“Frankly, that uncertainty about what's next is
intimidating,” Greenwood added. “The combination
of my professional experiences, along with having gone through what
our student-athletes are going through now has prepared me to be an
advocate and ally on their behalf.”

After hearing the wants and needs of the athletes and coaches,
Greenwood started working on the VCUconnect program.

Although the program just started running in February, there are
already more than 30 athletes in place for the summer.
Several recent graduates have also secured full-time jobs because
of the relationships created from VCUconnect.

Not only do the athletes benefit from the program, but early
success has shown that the business community benefits as
well. The relationship allows an opportunity to work with
students who already have valuable traits, such as knowing how to
spend countless hours devoted to goals, working well with others,
and the ability to take constructive criticism.

VCUconnect has over 40 partners to date, including large
companies such as Bon Secours and Dominion Resources, as well as
smaller organizations like Brandito, Colonial Scientific and
Beecroft and Bull.

“We are fortunate to have the buy-in of each of these and
other great companies in the area,” said Greenwood.
“By partnering together, we are impacting our
student-athletes and the City of Richmond in a very tangible
way.”

Although the program has had a lot of success finding
organizations to partner with, Greenwood stresses that the number
of partners does not matter; what is most important is to build
sound and meaningful relationships.

Outside of working with organizations, VCUconnect also runs a
series of workshops that student-athletes voluntarily attend.
By keeping the workshops elective, it allows an athlete the choice
to engage in improving their future.

“We had about 16 students who actively participated [in
the workshops] in the spring, and each has commented on how
effective the sessions were,” Greenwood said.

Greenwood runs the sessions himself with the help of a select
VCUconnect partners. The goal is to provide the
student-athletes with practical knowledge and skills they can
use. Session topics have included “The Right and Wrong
Way to Use Social Media”, “Professional Dress by Young
Professionals”, “How to Write a Resume that Doesn't
Annoy People”, and “NetWorking the
Room”.